100 level win as MACOSA holds first departmental football competition

The leadership of the Mass Communication Students’ Association (MACOSA), Kwara State University, Malete, has set a trail for its successors in the area of sports following the inter-level football competition that was redefined to MACOSA Cup.
The event commenced on Friday 12th October, 2018 and kickoff was done by the MACOSA President, Sen. Daranijo Habeeb Opeyemi, alongside the Sport Directors, Muhammad Jamal Muhammad, Akinola Samuel and the MACOSA Majority Leader, Adegboye Abdulmumeen (Prince).
The first leg of the match involved the 100 level team vs. 300 level and 200 level vs. 400 level. The 100 and 200 levels defeated their opponents in penalty shootouts and proceeded to the final which was held on Monday, 15th October.
The 70 minutes match resulted in a penalty shootout after ending with neither side scoring a goal in the entire game.
Lamidi Abdullah scored the winning goal and secured the win for 100 level as the match ended 5-4 on penalties.
In an interview with KWASU TIMES, Lamidi, who was awarded Man of the Match, said “I am very happy that we won the trophy, the match was very interesting and I had fun.”
When asked his future goals he said “Well about my future goals, I place priority on my education but I would love to play for Barcelona because I’m a Barca fan but due to tribalism I might not be able to do so yet, so I’ll have to start with an English team. I’ll also love to play for the school team if God wants it.”
On his part, the team captain, Raymond Onimisi, said “They were strong but we were stronger. Though luck was against us that was why we ended up playing penalties but they really played well. They actually gave us a tough time compared to the 300 level team. The only problem was the lateness of our players which led to the slack we had at the first half. I’ll commend the organizers because they have provided an avenue for the 100 level team to showcase their talents and I believe they now know those that can be selected to join the departmental team.”
The 100 level Coach, Adebisi Ridwan Ayodeji, said “They thought they could beat us but now we have shown them that we can beat them. I’m really impressed by the performance of my players. I want them to intensify their training and not say because we’ve won they shouldn’t come to training again but I’m really happy we won.”
Speaking on the competition, the MACOSA President said “I thank God for the success of this competition because it is an innovative effort. It has never happened in the history of Mass Communication that an inter-level competition would be conducted and there would be a trophy but seeing this happening under my administration makes me feel elated. The commitment, love and dedication shown by all levels in the department really impressed me. It shows that they are all interested in improving the departmental team. And I feel that next semester when we go for the departmental competition, we are definitely going to win.”
“Our plan is to give MACOSA a great team in the inter-departmental competition which will hold next semester because MACOSA as a team has not been performing well in the last two sessions. So, this competition is being held in order to select players that will represent the department at the inter-departmental level and we are very happy to see the level of professionalism displayed by everybody, we have so many talented players, especially from the 100 level team and they have really proved themselves by winning the trophy.”
The Sports Director 1, Mohammed Jamal, said identified some of the challenges faced during the event, adding: “Some of the challenges we faced were lack of commitment at the initial stage because some levels refused to show up very well, especially the 300 and 400 levels; they proved ‘senior men’ by not showing up. If you noticed during the last match that the 300 level started with seven players, so you’ll see that they were not committed at all. But if you look at the 100 level team, they have this team spirit. They really did well and they have proven themselves to be the best.”
The Referee of the game, Abayomi Adesmetan, also spoke about the winners. He said, “As one of those people that want the best for this school, it’s a good thing that the students are engaged in football and of course the major objective of sports is to bring people together and have fun. It’s a good thing because we have been able to spot talents, especially from the 100 level team. Like I told some of the stakeholders in MACOSA earlier, the future is bright. I think from what the freshers have shown, it’s really clear. This kind of competition will give those that are selecting players for the school team the ample chance to actually select players that can do the school proud in upcoming competitions.”
The Champions were gifted with the trophy which was called the ‘Macias Cup’ as a symbol of their victory with the sum of N1,000 which was presented to them by the President while Adegboye Abdulmumeen presented to the 200 level team, the sum of N2,000 as consolation prize.